Don't Let Me Go
by Gabriel Gatsby
Summary: Tom Riddle storms Godric's Hollow, slaying Lily and James Potter where they stand... but the child is not what he expects. (Warning: character death, and minor character deaths)


_I don't know why I took him. I just wanted him. He was so small, and as I raised him from his cot and held him up against the backdrop of his parents' crumpled bodies, he smiled. A gummy, infantile thing, but he was so unafraid. So innocent and unspoiled. So pure. I wanted him for my own._

Power pulses around us, a throbbing, glowing thunderstorm of magic, and it fills the air with static. It snaps at me and whips up my hair and he throws his head back and laughs. He laughs and laughs and it booms through the stadium. Clouds roll in the sky above, and sparks of blinding white connect them to the ground.

I can feel his exhilaration and it infects me with glee. I close my eyes and revel in his power. I let it envelope me completely, as I have so many times before. It's enough to crush me, but I know it won't; this is Harry's power.

Behind the roaring of the growing tornado, I can hear the distant screams of on-lookers in the stands. Harry is the still eye of the storm, but across the seats of the Quiddich stadium people clutch onto each other for support against the violent winds.

My own red eyes lock onto his perfect gems. Hard and cold as emeralds, they glitter as they reflect the magic around him and I can feel myself falling into them. Falling, and being swallowed alive.

He smiles, a smile just for me, and my heartbeat falls into sync with his; it thumps with every throb of magic, as though it's his power alone that's keeping me alive. I am elated to be at his mercy.

But as I watch, something changes. I feel it before I see it in his face. I feel it through our connected minds, through the love we share, and the Everlasting Bond. I feel it in every fibre of my being.

Panic. Rising panic, and the storm rises with it. I see the smile slip from his face, and his green eyes widen. The clouds above us begin to darken, and with them the sparks of lightening take on a life of their own; where they strike the ground, dirt and rock explodes. I dare not look away. Harry is frowning now, and gone is the steady pulsing, replaced by mad fluctuations of magic that flail uncontrollably.

Through our open bond, a tidal wave of emotions crashes over me. Fear floods into my heart; a terror unlike any I have ever known, and it's coming from Harry.

_I can't- it's not-_

Harry's frightened and fractured voice stutters in my mind, and I attempt to call back to him but feel myself thrust out of his head by a brutal force. I stagger and crumple to my knees as I struggle for breath, but still I don't look away. Harry's eyes beg me not to let go, and I promise him silently _never._

His eyes darken and so does the sky, blackening until the only light is the magic all around; a galaxy of sparks reflected in Harry's eyes, but soon there is fire too. The wind fans flames into life and around us the stands are burning. Screams of terror split the air between the roaring gusts of wind that threaten to rip me away.

Beneath me, the ground buckles and great rents topple the towers of seats, swallowing the tumbling bodies, flames and all. My skin is burning from the freezing heat, and my heart breaks to see the all-encompassing fear that's enveloping Harry. His eyes are impossibly wide, and _so afraid. _He's trying to catch himself, but it's too little, too late.

As the world crumbles around us, I feel Harry breaking too; his very being fragmenting before me as the magic pulls him bodily apart. His eyes plead for help, but I can't reach him; he's falling apart too fast.

Then everything slows; the air between us turns icy, and for a moment that stretches on for an eternity, our promise of _forever _is almost real. Time freezes, and I see our shared life flash before me; each beat of our adjoined hearts is a memory more precious than a thousand gems.

Ba-dum.

_A vast velvet sky stretches out overhead, littered with a million glittering stars. Tom sits, as at home as he has ever felt in his life, with a young Harry tucked into the crook of his arm. The infant sleeps soundly, and his breath tickles Tom's face as he leans down to press a gentle kiss atop his head. He feels a tiny heart, fluttering against his own, and a happiness he knows is so far beyond anything he deserves worms its way into his soul._

Ba-dum.

_A raven-haired child, so full of life and joy, realises for the first time the power of his own magic and makes a hundred wild flowers dance about Tom's head. Tom picks him up and twirls him around and around against the azure-blue sky, and together they discover perfect bliss._

Ba-dum.

_A young man, so sure of himself, and yet still so pure. It was wrong, Tom knew, so wrong and so selfish to corrupt such perfection. But as Harry grows Tom realises there are no boundaries to his love. He loves the man as he loved the child, and more. Harry is discovering the power of seduction, and Tom's resistance is futile; family, friends or lovers; there is no limit. Red lips whisper their first sins, and Tom is falling._

Ba-dum.

_Moonlight filters in, caressing white sheets and tangled limbs, and Harry is an adult grown. He's more powerful than Tom could have ever believed, and as unafraid as ever. Fatally, they believe that nothing can touch them now. Messy black hair tickles his chin as Harry raises his head to look into crimson eyes,_

"_Till death?" he asks, in earnest._

"_Forever wouldn't be enough," Tom answers. Wordless magic engulfs them both, and Tom's heart soars as Harry binds them together for beyond an eternity._

There are no heartbeats left now though, and I feel my soul being wrought in two as Harry's last words echo in my mind.

_Don't forget me, _he pleads.

And I promise him, _Never._

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_Written for: the 'War of Angels Competition'. Prompts: Don't Let Me Go by RAIGN (song)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

_CC cover image (entitled 'I wanna hold your hand') courtesy of Josep Ma. Rosell on Flickr._

* * *

**A/N: **Well, what dya think of that!? Was is awful? I really liked this song, I thought it was a pretty powerful one so I found it really difficult to capture. Hopefully it didn't turn out too terrible. Thanks for reading! Please, please, please do review, I would absolutely love to know what you thought :) GG x


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